The cheapest conventional systems for converting the synthesis gas into a product with similar features to those of the multifunctional product of this patent are via the by-products of the synthesis gas itself: via methanol and formaldehyde or via dimethyl ether and formaldehyde.
The first route for producing a product similar to the multifunctional product of this patent requires first converting the synthesis gas to methanol at pressure of approximately 60 bar and a temperature of approximately 250° C., passing it several times through the same reactor since the water generated in the process limits conversion of the synthesis gas to methanol. This modern process of producing low pressure methanol was developed in late 1960.
After producing the methanol, it must be processed in a separate reactor and at a pressure close to atmospheric pressure, so that it becomes dissociated into formaldehyde and hydrogen at a temperature of approximately 600° C. using copper or silver as a catalyst, or instead oxidized with air to convert it to formaldehyde and water at 280° C. using a pressure close to the atmospheric pressure.
Finally, the formaldehyde produced is made to react with methanol, increasing the pressure of the latter to 20 bar at an approximate temperature of 250° C. in a reactive distillation process, using ionic exchange resin as an acid catalyst and thus producing a product with similar features to the multifunctional product.
An example of this process is U.S. Pat. No. 6,160,186 by BP/AMOCO. However, this process loses efficiency when the synthesis gas, due to the production of water during methanol production, generates a low percentage of conversion to methanol and therefore requires several passes through the reactor under a pressure of approximately 60 bar, and after each passage this methanol needs to lose pressure and cool down so that the water generated in the process can be extracted from it, since this acts as a limiter in the conversion; for the above-mentioned separation, a distillation process called flash distillation is generally used, which is performed at a lower temperature and pressure than is required for methanol synthesis.
Then, in order to convert it to formaldehyde, the methanol must be reheated, generally in the presence of an oxidizing agent such as air, oxygen, water or CO2 and a suitable catalyst. Once the methanol has oxidized to formaldehyde, it must be cooled down and stored in a stock that is separate from the process line. In order to later recover it from this stock it must be heated and injected at the same time as the methanol, at an approximate pressure of 20 bar and a temperature of close to 180° C. so that said products can react in a process known as reactive distillation using an ion exchange resin as a catalyst.
Another known route for producing a similar product to the multifunctional product is from a synthesis of gas and oxygen. It is less conventional than the first route but produces a majority conversion, and this is converting the synthesis gas directly to dimethyl ether at a temperature of close to 250° C. and at medium pressure: from 20 to 40 bar. It is then stored in a container at moderate pressures and ambient temperature, where it is extracted in order to be combined with formaldehyde taken from a source that contains or generates it, in order to finally process both products, dimethyl ether and formaldehyde, by heating them to a temperature of approximately 180° C. and subjecting them to a pressure of about 20 bar using ion exchange resin as a catalyst.
This process requires producing the formaldehyde, generally obtained from methanol, with the drawbacks indicated for the first route, or taking it from other products that already contain the aldehyde but are more expensive; or in the pure form, such as is the case for trioxane, paraformaldehyde and formaldehyde in solution with methanol or water. This last route for obtaining formaldehyde in order to produce polyoxyethylene dimethyl ether is used in the process developed by BASF and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,999,140 B2.
The multifunctional product subject matter of this patent is useful as a solvent and also as a liquid fuel due to its features and advantages, amongst which we can highlight:                1. It has low toxicity.        2. It can be mixed in all proportions with petrol or diesel.        3. When the objective is to mix it with diesel, it can be adjusted to a different degree of viscosity and a different cetane number.        4. It keeps in a single liquid phase mixtures of alcohol with hydrocarbons such as petrol or diesel, even when there is contamination with water.        5. When it is mixed and combusted with hydrocarbons it lowers the toxic levels of the gas emissions from combustion of the hydrocarbon.        6. It can be obtained from biomass or hydrocarbons.        7. It is biodegradable.        8. It acts as a carbon dioxide sink since it generates less CO2 per net unit of energy obtained and due to its oxygen content being greater than 50% when used as a component in conventional fuels, with an irrelevant negative impact on the power of the engine used.        9. It allows being complemented with other fuel components so as to use up to 100% in conventional engines without substantial modifications and obtaining a competitive efficiency with respect to conventional fuels.        10. It cleans the soot and water from fuel tanks and injectors.        11. It works with the current pumping systems at petrol stations.        
In the current state of science there is no integrated process that allows obtaining the multifunctional product only from synthesis gas, oxygen and an optional additive, using the integration of known technologies, so that when they interact they are capable of generating a surprising synergy characterized in that it:                1. Achieves a majority percentage of conversion to the multifunctional product in a single pass.        2. Is capable of maintaining the process going as a self-heating and continuous reaction at the expense of the heat energy received from the partial oxidation of part of its raw materials and without causing a great consumption of electric power, using almost all of it to keep the process at a moderate pressure.        3. Prevents the need for storing the intermediate products of the process externally to the process line.        4. Produces a multifunctional product that, adequately applying the optional additive, can change its pH and thus its physical and chemical characteristics so that, on the one hand, in the presence of acid substances, it prevents the inversion of the reactions that produced it; and on the other hand, when it is used as a fuel, it increases its sensitivity to detonation.        
The four points above are precisely what is achieved with the process and device disclosed in this patent and described below.